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Homemade Ranch Dressing

May 23, 2012 by Joy the Baker 120 Comments

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I really wanted to be a waitress… until I really didn’t want to be a waitress.

When I was a kid, my family would go to the same Italian restaurant every month.  I was so smitten by the young waiter who always seemed more than eager to bring me a straw with my water, and offer a hearty thumbs-up when my dad ordered an extra side of meatballs.  He made his button up shirt look flawless and comfortable…. and he just had one of those faces that you wanted to see every time you were hungry.

I was super stoked when I got my first waitressing job.  …Just so excited.

I was just as happy as I could be until I realized that the restaurant I was working in served ranch dressing.  The ranch wasn’t the problem.  The problem is that people want to put ranch on absolutely everything:  french fries, potatoes, toast, burritos.  Everything!  I was a vertiable ranch dispenser.  It was so far from the ultra-smiley impression of serving tables that I had gotten as a youth… mostly because I wasn’t ultra-smiley… I was a bringer.

Thank heavens this was a good while ago.  The restaurant?  Well, it started with “The” and ended in “Factory”.  It was a little dose of real life.  It helped me realize that I’d rather be the girl making the ranch in the back… not the girl faking a smile in the front.  This is how we learn.

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Good ranch dressing starts with fresh herbs and smashed garlic.

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I start with a base of sour cream and mayonaise.  Add herbs, salt, pepper, and a good squeeze of lemon.

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Add buttermilk until the dressing finds a good consistency.

ranchtown

 Have some carrot sticks on hand.  You’ll have a lot of tasting to do as you make the ranch.

There are lots of bonus extras to add:  Tabasco, fresh dill, garlic powder, or barbecue sauce.  Add a dash of this and a pinch of that until you’ve reached a happy ranch point.  It’s important to let the dip rest in the fridge before serving.  Four hours.  It’ll give the flavors a chance to marry.

I’m satisfied, aren’t you?

Happy Day!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

makes about 2 1/2 cups of dressing

Print this Recipe!

1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)

1/2 cup mayonaise (I used light mayo)

cold buttermilk

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped chives

1 clove garlic

salt and coarse ground black pepper

additions:

garlic powder

tabasco sauce

worchestershire sauce

chopped dill

barbecue sauce

On a cutting board, smash a whole garlic clove.  Sprinkle garlic with about 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt.  With a fork, smash the salt into the garlic, creating a paste.

In a medium bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonaise, parsley, chives, and garlic.  Add salt and pepper.  Drizzle in buttermilk until you’ve reached a desired consistency.  I added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup but you may add as much as you’d like.

Add any additional ingredients like tabasco sauce, garlic powder, and dill.  A touch of barbecue sauce is dang good!

Taste and adjust ingredients to taste.

Place dressing in an airtight container and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.  The flavors need to rest and meld before serving.  Serve cold, and add more buttermilk if you find that the dressing is too thick.  Dressing lasts up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ruth

    July 23, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    Is this similar to how Cheesecake Factory’s ranch is? It’s my favorite restaurant ranch!

    Reply
  2. Eli

    January 14, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Is there any decent options to substitute the sour cream and buttermilk for non dairy ingredients? Thanks!

    Reply
  3. CHEF MICHAEL

    August 19, 2013 at 10:54 am

    THIS DOES NOT TASTE ANYTHING LIKE “THE…FACTORYS” RANCH DRESSING. FALSE ADVERTISING!!!
    PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR CCF’s RANCH DRESSING WANT THE EXACT RECIPE!!!
    WHAT MAYO DO THEY USE (home made????? how is it done???)
    WHAT SOUR CREAM (what kind??????)
    WHAT BUTTERMILK?????
    THESE QUESTIONS DETERMINE “THE REAL” TRUE FLAVOR, AND DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN GOOD AND GREAT. THERES A BIG DIFFERENCE!!, AVERAGE OR ABOVE AVERAGE. ILL NOT PAY FOR THIS VERSES I WANT IT AT ANY PRICE. CATCH MY DRIFT???????!!!!!! THIS IS, AND TASTE, LIKE A COPY CAT RECIPE AND THATS WHAT YOU SHOULD STATE!!! THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE WITH YOUR RECIPE COMPARE TO ALL OTHER RANCH RECIPES ON THE WWW.
    NOW PAY ME FOR MY WASTED TIME AND GROCERIES!!
    LADY….., IM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT MY CCF RANCH DRESSING
    DONT INSINUATE THAT YOUR REVEALING THE GREATEST RANCH RECIPE IN THE WORLD. SAY SOMETHING LIKE “INSPIRED BY CCF RANCH” OR ” WANNA BE CCF RANCH”
    CHEF MICHAEL

    F———(minuses)

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      August 19, 2013 at 10:57 am

      just so you know… you’re super annoying.

      Reply
  4. Kacey

    January 8, 2013 at 6:14 am

    Joy, this is my go to base dressing recipe. I’ve made it so many times, each with a little variation. My husband would drink it if I let him!

    Thanks again for an awesome recipe!

    Reply
  5. Robert Spears

    September 28, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    I have a question: does it matter what kind of parsley you use? I don’t know the names of the parsley, but the one you have pictured looks kind of flat like cilantro, the kind I usually buy is “not flat” …LOL….ya know whatI mean?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      April 3, 2013 at 2:01 pm

      I think I always use flat leaf.

      Reply
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Trackbacks

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  2. Baker’s Ranch | Got Healthy says:
    September 10, 2014 at 8:54 am

    […] Joy the Baker Homemade Ranch Dressing – Joy the Baker makes homemade ranch! … I spent my early 20?s working third shift in a diner that started with “D” and ended in “enny’s”.They made their …… […]

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    August 21, 2013 at 8:10 am

    […] used an adapted version of Joy the Baker’s Ranch Dressing for my salad. I highly recommend it (and everything she makes). The homemade stuff makes a WORLD of […]

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    May 23, 2013 at 5:12 am

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    April 17, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    […] everything better. Spicy + Sweet + Cheesy = the holy flavor trinity.  And when you add a little homemade ranch with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes well, you just made your threesome a […]

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  8. let’s talk: french fries + dipping sauces | Ambitious Kitchen says:
    February 3, 2013 at 9:32 pm

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    August 28, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    […] and YUM. There’s a couple of different recipes I’d like to try (like this one and this one) so we’ll see how that […]

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